spicy beef & edamame noodle bowl

lucky noodles for the new year! i’m not really superstitious, but who wouldn’t welcome a little (or a lot!) of good luck in their lives? ;)

there are all sorts of fun holiday traditions that my extended family does to symbolize good luck, health and prosperity in the new year… place a sprig of fresh grapes above every doorway to bring good wishes into your home. prepare a bowl of 13 different fresh fruits on the table — 1 fruit for every month of the year, and 1 more for a fruitful following year. put coins on each step of the stairway in your house to bring good fortune and prosperity to your family. cook a hearty noodle dish to symbolize long-life and good health for your family. so, in celebration of all things yummy and good in 2012, here’s a yumyumyummers recipe for stirfry noodles. cheers to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!

the beef:
- heat up 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil in large wok on medium heat
- add 2 sprigs of green onions (rooted stems removed, rough chop into sliced rounds)
- add 250g beef stirfry strips to wok
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- add a dash of sea salt
- season w/ chinese five-spice
- stirfry beef until partially cooked

the veggies:
in the same wok, add the following ingredients to the stirfry beef:
- 1 cup baby carrots (julienne-cut)
- 1 cup edamame beans (deshelled, pre-steamed)
- splash of water
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- drizzle 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
- stirfry for 1-2min
- then add 2 cups organic mixed greens
- add 1 cup crimini mushrooms (sliced)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- stirfry ingredients together in wok until well combined

ancho chile black bean chili

snow day? hello, comfort food. nothing like a winter storm to make you crave some slowcooked goodness. this hearty slowcooked chili will warm you up and have you coming back for seconds. it did for me. :)

what’s great about this recipe is that you don’t need to run to the grocery store for the ingredients. i’m guessing you probably have everything you need right in your kitchen. you can prep the chili for the slowcooker and then smell the lovely slowcooker aroma while you curl up on the sofa. now how’s that for a pretty stellar snow day?

the ancho chile beef:
- heat up 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (evoo) in a large saucepan on high heat
- brown 2 large shallots (peeled, rough chop) in pan
- add a dash of sea salt
- add 500g lean ground beef to shallots
- sprinkle 1 tsp ancho chile spice
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- sauté ground beef until browned, but not fully cooked
- remove from heat & set aside, while prepping other ingredients for the slowcooker

cashew beef & veggie stirfry

one wok wonder. i love to cook, but i’m not a fan of cleaning up the mess in the kitchen afterwards. :) so i thought i’d take the challenge of cooking up a meal in one pot or pan to keep it simple. wok this way…

the beef:
- heat up 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil in large wok on medium heat
- add 2 sprigs of green onions (rooted stems removed, rough chop into sliced rounds)
- add 250g beef stirfry strips to wok
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- add a dash of sea salt
- season w/ chinese five-spice
- stirfry beef until partially cooked

the cashews & veggies:
in the same wok, add the following ingredients to the stirfry beef:
- 2 cups broccoli (ends trimmed, chopped into small florets)
- splash of water
- 1/2 orange bell pepper (pitted, sliced)
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper (pitted, sliced)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- stirfry for 1-2min
- then add 1 cup crimini mushrooms (sliced)
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- stirfry ingredients together in wok until well combined